Scaffold jack and ladder



Feb. 19, 1952 E. COBLE 2 8 4 SCAFF'OLD JACK AND LADDER Filed May 20.1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR: ERNEST L. Cosu:

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ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1952 Ernest L. Goble,'East Cleveland, Ohio,assignor to The Star Welding & Manufacturing Company, Inc.,. Cleveland,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 20, 1948, Serial No. 28,106.

3 Claims.

This invention; relates to; equipment for use by mechanics. and'm-asons:where the: work. involved is above the floor level, more specifically aunitary assembly consisting of? an adjustable support for a portion ofa. scaffold combined with an extension ladder tofacilitate both time andlabor.

One. object of the invention is to provide an improved equipmentof thistype capable of being readily collapsed for transportation orrepositioning from time to time and expanded for use, whereby" themechanic or mason may readily orient himself on or off the scaffold.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved equipment ofthis type having supporting legs and" a supportingv head adjustablethereon and an extension ladder the sections of which are connected toone of the legs and the head for adjustment therewith.

Another object of. the invention is to provide an improved combinedscafiold jack having an adjustable head and ladder having an extensiblesection connected to the adjustable head of the jack: so that in anyadjustment of the head the ladder is co-extensive in length to theheight of the head.

Other objects; of the invention will: be apparent to. those skilled inthe art to which my invention relates fromthe following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is aperspective view of a scaffold supported at one end by an adjustablejack and supported atits opposite end by equipment embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view.

Fig; 3'? is a fragmentary elevation. on the line 3-3 of: Fig. 2;

Fi 4. is a section. on the line 4-4" of; Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is. a section on the line 5-5 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is a plan view on the line.- 6-6. of Fig; 2.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but showing certain parts in adifferent. position.

8 is a side elevaton of parts. as shown in Fig. 9 is a view similar toFig; 6, but showing certain parts in another position.

Figs. 10 and II are sections on the lines Ill-40' and ll-[I,respectively;, of Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 is. an elevational view showing the equipment in collapsedposition.

In the drawings, l indicates as; an entirety a jack having an adjustablehead indicated as an entirety at2. 3' indicatesas an entiretya ladder,the jack and ladder forming a unitary assembly.

The jack. l consists: of the following: la indicates a plurality oflegs, three legs being shown to simplify the. construction and reduceits weight to facilitate handling. The legs I a are preferably cut fromT-stock, having pads la Welded on their lower ends to provide a largebearing surface on. the flooring when the jack is in use. The upper endsof the legs la are pivotally connected to a tubular member 20.. As shownin Fig. 10, the tubular member 2a is provided with pairs of outwardlyextending. lugs 2a, each pair being spaced to accommodate the flange lbof one of the legs la, so that. by means of a pivot pin, such as a bolt3a, the leg la and member 2a may be pivotally connected together forrelative movement. Intermediate its ends each leg la is pivotally'connected to the outer end of a link 4, the inner end of which ispivotally connected to a lower tubular member 5, each connection betweenone. link 4 for the adjacent leg la being in alinement with theconnection of the leg with the tubular member 2a. As the links 4 are otequal length, the tubular member 5 is axially related to the tubularmember 2a and by reason of the pivotal connections between the legs. laand tubular members 2a, 5, the legs Ia may be collapsed, as shown inFig. 12- to permit'ready handling, as well as occupy a. relatively smallspace. The tubular member 5 is provided with lugs: 5a, alined with thelugs 20/, respectively, and each link 4 consists of a pair of bars 4acut from suitable bar stock, the bars engaging the opposite sides of onelug 5a and the flange lb of the adjacent leg la to accommodate pivotpins, such as bolts 6, to provide the pivotal connections therewith.

1 indicates a supporting member slidably and rotatably fitting thetubular members 2a, 5, for endwi'se and angular adjustment therein andcarrying at its. upper end the head 2. The supporting member 1 ispreferably hollow, being cutto the. desired length from suitable metaltubing, so that when the head 2 is in its lowest position the lower end.of the supporting member I clears the flooring (see Fig. 2). Between itslower end and the head 2, the supporting member T is formed with a setof diametrically extending openings To, the purpose of which is laterset forth.

The head 2 comprises the following: 9' indicates" a'base elementsuitably welded to the upper end of the supporting member 1 andextending laterally in opposite directions therefrom. The outer ends ofthe baseelement 9- are preferably braced or reenforced by arms Sa weldedthereto at their outer ends and welded at their inner ends to thesupporting member 1. Ill, [0, indicate a pair of seating elements eachconsisting of a base section Illa and a wall lflb extending upwardlyfrom one end thereof. Each base section Illa is mounted. on the baseelement 9 and. pivotally connected thereto intermediate its'ends forrotative movement, whereby the seating elements in may be positioned indifferent relationships, as later set forth.

When the head 2 is disposed in its lowest position, the arms 90. engagethe upper end of the tubular member 2a; in this position the supportingmember I may be locked to the tubular member 2a to prevent rotativemovement therein, as later set forth.

The head 2 may be supported at various levels above the flooring bysliding the supporting member 1 upwardly and securing the latter in itsadjusted position by means which interlock it to the tubular member 2aagainst downward and angular movement.

The interlocking means consist of the alined openings 1a. formed in themember 1, diametrically extending openings 1c formed in the tubularmember 2a and a pin I2 which extends through the openings; thus, the pin12 connects the tubular member 2a and supporting member I together toprevent outward movement of the latter when the assembly is beingtransported and through the member 1 supports the head 2 in its elevatedposition.

[3 indicates a pressure device carried by the tubular member andarranged to engage the supporting member I under pressure. The device |3preferably consists of a thumbscrew threaded into an opening formed inthe tubular member 5 and tightened against the supporting member andco-operates with the tubular member 2a. to prevent wobbling or vibrationof the head 2 incident to the movement. of workmen on the scaffold.Also, since the device 13 connects the tubular member 5 to thesupporting member I and in any position of the latter it is connectedthrough the pin l2 to the tubular member 2a, it will be seen that thetubular members 2a, 5, are held in fixed relation, and the tubularmembers in turn support the legs in expanded fixed relation and thusprevent inward movement of the legs la, so that danger of one or more ofthe legs being engaged and displaced by some propelled or operatedmachine or body is eliminated.

N indicates an elongated tube which is rigidly secured to one end of thebase 9 in any desired manner, preferably by welding, disposed at rightangles to the base 9 and extending equal distances to opposite sidesthereof. The tube l4 provides a bearing for a removable shaft l5 theopposite ends of which extend through alined openings formed in the sidebars l6 of the ladder 3, the tube I4 and shaft l5 serving to pivotallyconnect the ladder to the head 2. The shaft l5 consists of a bar havinga head |5a at one end and provided at its opposite end with an openingto accommodate a cotter pin l5b, the head l5a and pin [5b engaging theouter sides of the bars l6 and serving to prevent endwise displacementof the shaft 15. The tube 14 is preferably of a length to fit betweenthe opposed inner sides of the bars 16 to provide a long bearing for theshaft l5. In this arrangement it will be seen that the weight of theladder and the weight of a mechanic when ascending or descending thereonon the head aretran'smitted to the latte 1 .1

4 b a plane disposed midway the sides of the ladder and endwise of thebase 9, so that uneven stresses are not imparted to the jack andscaffold when a mechanic is traversing the ladder in either direction.The ladder 3 consists of a main or lower section 3.1: and an extensiblesection 33:. The main section consists of side bars 3.2 spacedlyconnected together by spaced pairs of inner and outer alined crossmembers 3b preferably welded to the opposite side edges of the bars 32.As shown the outer cross bars provide steps or rungs, whereby themechanic can ascend or descend on the ladder. The extensible section3.1: consists of the side bars l6 (already referred to) and crossmembers I Go. extending between and welded at their opposite ends to theside bars IS. The bars I6a provide steps or rungs when the extension 30:is raised or extended. As shown, the side bars l6 are disposed withinand slidably fit the side bars 32. As the width of the bars I6approximates that of the side bars 32 (see Fig. 4), the bars l6 slidablyengage with and are guided longitudinally of the bars 32, during endwisemovement of the ladder section 3.1:, by the inner faces of the crossmembers 327. The upper ends of the side bars I 6 are preferablyintegrally connected to an arcuate section l6b adapted to be gripped bythe mechanic when stepping off the ladder onto the scaffold or steppingfrom the scaffold onto the steps of the ladder. The lower ends of theside bars 32 are removably pivotally connected to the outer end of anextension 30 fixed to the lower end of one of the legs la. By preferencethe extension 30 and pad Ia for the adjacent leg la may be formed of onepiece. The pivotal connection for the bars 32 is similar to the pivotalconnection between the bars I6 and the base 9- 0f the head 2, as aboveset forth. As the lower end of the main ladder section is pivotallyconnected to one of the legs and the upper end portion of the extensibleladder section is connected to the adjustable head 2, the ladder and thejack may be collapsed, as shown in Fig. 12, and, with respect to theladders length and inclination, it readily adjusts itself to anyadjustment of the head 2 vertically so that manual handling of theladder after any adjustment of the head 2 is not required nor does theadjustment of the head and ladder affect the collapsibility thereof.Accordingly, any adjustment of the head 2 in either direction to anydesired elevation is effective to position the ladder for use. Byconnecting the lower end of the ladder section 30: to the lower end of aleg la, the ladder always rests on the flooring or other surface whichsupports the legs and by connecting the ladder sections to a leg and thehead 2, the ladder is held against lateral displacement relative to thehead and bears inwardly on the latter in line with the adjacent leg la,the connecting link therefor and axis of the tubular members 2a. 5.

Fig. 1 shows one adaptation of my equipment supporting one end of ascaffold A but two such mechanisms may be employed when desired.

Figs. 1, 2 and 6 show the seating elements ID in one position arrangedto engage the opposite sides of a scaffold and Fig. 9 shows the elementsin a different position engaging the opposite sides of a scaffold,whereas Figs. 7 and 8 show the position of the elements engaging a sillA on which a scaffold is to be supported. Set screws I] are provided forsecuring the seating elements to the base 9 and set screws l8 areprovided on the walls lob to secure the latter to the scaffold or asill.

No claim is made herein to the construction of the jack and the headthereon, as such parts form the subject-matter of my co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 724,949, filed January 29, 1947.

To those skilled in the art to which my invention relates many changesin construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of theinvention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. My disclosures and the description herein arepurely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

What I claim is:

1. In portable equipment for supporting one end of a scafiold and thelike, the combination of a supporting element having a scaffold supportat its upper end, means for vertically and rotatably adjustablysupporting said element consisting of upper and lower alined tubularmembers through which said element slidably and rotatably extends, aplurality of legs uniformly space about said tubular members pivotallyconnected at their upper ends to said upper tubular member for swingingmovement toward and from said lower member radially of the latter, alinkage pivotally connected at its opposite ends to each of said legsand said lower tubular member, separate means for detachably securingsaid tubular members to said supporting element to support the latter inadjusted position, a ladder consisting of a main section and anextensible section, a pivotal connection between the lower end of saidmain ladder section and one of said legs and a pivotal connectionbetween the upper end of said extensible ladder section and saidscafiold support, whereby said extensible section moves with saidsupport relative to said main ladder section when said supportingelement is adjusted vertically, said tubular members being adapted torelatively move endwise of said supporting element to permit said legsto be collapsed into close relation to said tubular members.

2. Equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pivotal connection forsaid extensible ladder section consists of a shaft supported at itsopposite ends in the side bars of said section, a tube rotatably fittingsaid shaft between said side bars and engaging the latter at itsopposite ends and a rigid connection between said tube and scaffoldsupport.

3. Equipment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pivotal connection forsaid main ladder section consists of a shaft supported at its oppositeends in the side bars of said section and a tube rotatably fitting saidshaft and a rigid connection between said tube and one of said legs.

ERNEST L. COBLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 118,128 Heavner Aug. 15, 1871920,547 Crum May 4, 1909 979,220 Taber Dec. 20, 1910 1,116,098 MorrisonNov. 3, 1914 1,234,510 Trautwein July 24, 1917 1,545,348 Nalder July 7,1925 1,853,566 Lingo Apr. 12, 1932 1,901,726 Bonnet Mar. 14, 19332,062,473 Norton Dec. 1, 1936 2,261,479 Moen Nov. 4, 1941

